Deep Space Climate Observatory

Deep Space Climate Observatory

An artist's rendering of DSCOVR satellite
Names	DSCOVR Triana GoreSat
Mission type	Space weather
Operator	NASA / NOAA
COSPAR ID	2015-007A
SATCAT no.	40390
Website	www.nesdis.noaa.gov/dscovr
Mission duration	5 years (planned) [1] 9 years, 3 months, 2 days (elapsed)
Spacecraft properties
Bus	SMEX-Lite
Manufacturer	Goddard Space Flight Center
Launch mass	570 kg (1,260 lb) [2]
Dimensions	Undeployed: 1.4 × 1.8 m (4 ft 7 in × 5 ft 11 in)
Power	600 watts
Start of mission
Launch date	11 February 2015, 23:03:42 UTC
Rocket	Falcon 9 v1.1
Launch site	Cape Canaveral, SLC-40
Contractor	SpaceX
Entered service	8 June 2015
Orbital parameters
Reference system	Heliocentric orbit[1]
Regime	Sun-Earth Lagrange point L1
Instruments PlasMag Plasma-Magnetometer NISTAR National Institute of Standards and Technology Advanced Radiometer EPIC Earth Polychromatic Imaging Camera ES Electron Spectrometer PHA Pulse Height Analyzer
DSCOVR logo Space Weather program Space Weather Follow On-Lagrange 1 →

Deep Space Climate Observatory (DSCOVR; formerly known as Triana, unofficially known as GoreSat^[3]) is a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) space weather, space climate, and Earth observation satellite. It was launched by SpaceX on a Falcon 9 v1.1 launch vehicle on 11 February 2015, from Cape Canaveral.^[4] This is NOAA's first operational deep space satellite and became its primary system of warning Earth in the event of solar magnetic storms.^[5]

DSCOVR was originally proposed as an Earth observation spacecraft positioned at the Sun-Earth L₁ Lagrange point, providing live video of the sunlit side of the planet through the Internet as well as scientific instruments to study climate change. Political changes in the United States resulted in the mission's cancellation, and in 2001 the spacecraft was placed into storage.

Proponents of the mission continued to push for its reinstatement, and a change in presidential administration in 2009 resulted in DSCOVR being taken out of storage and refurbished, and its mission was refocused to solar observation and early warning of coronal mass ejections while still providing Earth observation and climate monitoring. It launched aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 launch vehicle on 11 February 2015, and reached L₁ on 8 June 2015, joining the list of objects orbiting at Lagrange points.

NOAA operates DSCOVR from its Satellite and Product Operations Facility in Suitland, Maryland. The acquired space data that allows for accurate weather forecasts are carried out in the Space Weather Prediction Center in Boulder, Colorado. Archival records are held by the National Centers for Environmental Information, and processing of Earth sensor data is carried out by NASA.^[1]